On the open road ??? Let's be serious, it doesn't exist, or I suggest you enter the WEC championship and receive money !
I'd rather drive an older Ferrari at 9/10's to be honest. Better sound and overall sensation because I could never drive a new Ferrari at 9/10's on the street. I'd either be in a morgue or in jail. Heck I don't think most people could drive anything over 450 hp 9/10's on the street without getting into some serious trouble. At a recent FCA event a couple of years ago in the Blue Ridge Mountains, I had no problem keeping up with an F8 while driving my 458 due to the course (twisty mountain roads). On the highway, I'd have no chance but that's not really as thrilling to me.
One thing Id call out is the idea of bringing Pininfarina back. As noted, they were sold. And that was after FDC seemingly got most of their good talent. When modern Pininfarina was given the chance to design a new sports car, they designed a nice, if a bit forgettable shape that is a bit of a rip off of the LaFerrari, Pista, McLaren 720. This is hardly cutting edge or ground breaking design. And because it is an EV, they have greater design freedom. Contrast to what FDC has done, surely some hits and some misses, we each probably put different cars on each list, but, they’ve done designs for a decade now, and I dont think any of them are actually as derivative as the Pininfarina.
Jerry, regarding the current Pininfarina, I completely agree that it can never return to Ferrari, as it no longer even resembles in terms of "savor-faire" the one we knew in the past under the same name. During the little over a decade of FDC's existence, in my modest opinion there are two phases. The first, more derivative, in which, for example, the front-engine V12 models up to the 812C are aesthetically and technologically evolutions of their predecessors. Something similar seems to have happened in the mid-engine group up to the F8. However, from then on, a reversal is indeed noticeable, as some new models derive little or nothing from their predecessors. This is the case of the 12C, whose design is completely innovative and bears no resemblance to its modern predecessors. Regarding the 296, there are still some aesthetic traits of its predecessors, but generally, it is a car with very different lines. Also aesthetically, the 849 breaks completely with the SF90. On the other hand, we can glimpse in the lines of the Amalfi a kinship with the Roma.
This is subjective, of course. The new Ferrari is clearly faster, better engineered and better built. But the older car are engaging in different ways - rowing your own gears, mechanical steering, different sounds and smells, etc. And on the street, you can spend more time approaching 9/10s in the older cars. The old adage, better to drive a slow car fast than a fast car slow. That's worth something. I'm not arguing that the old cars offer a better experience. It's different. Both are great. This is a pretty good illustration that performance is not the only thing that matters to the experience. A modern Civic may be as fast as a 355. But, you'll have a lot more fun coaxing that performance out of the Ferrari.
The point is that, until very recently, performance was a very exclusive attribute. Engineering, performance, and emotions went hand in hand. That's why Enzo was so focused on performance: along with performance, all other attributes came. What's happening today is that electrification is "trivializing" performance, so that there are Chinese electric cars with 2,000+ hp. If things continue as they are, in 5 years there will be Chinese sedans doing 0-200 km/h in 6 seconds. So, IMO, Ferrari should position itself on the concepts of "sportiness," "sensation," and "art." The issue is no longer performance, but how that performance is delivered. Weight reduction can be a great demonstration of cutting-edge technology and technological prowess. Much more than a childish "hp wars." Why does a brand with such a legacy (and cars that have always been collectible) need to have turbo-hybrid "units"? And two or three screens in the interior? Chinese cars are heavily hybridized/electric and full of screens. The Ferrari must be different from the ordinary. A naturally aspirated engine, whether V6, V8, or V12, has a linearity and sound (I'm talking about character, not volume) that turbos lack. In my view, a new naturally aspirated engine (with any number of cylinders), with a slightly lighter hybridization (less complexity and lighter weight), would be a good way to begin this repositioning. See, a N/A car with a mild hybrid is much more manageable than a turbo with a heavy hybrid, and therefore requires fewer nannies to control it (less complexity, less weight, more emotion). And this doesn't mean becoming a "Lotus," but rather it would bring back a "machinery" feel and collectibility to regular production Ferraris, without neglecting evolution. Just my opinion. I know many here think otherwise.
An excellent post, and I completely agree that we've reached a point of no return where performance is no longer an exclusive attribute of an elite, including Ferrari. Therefore, as you rightly pointed out, the insatiable desire among Ferrari and other manufacturers specially for new hybrid models to have ever more stratospheric power outputs no longer makes sense and is a completely lost battle, given that today a Chinese electric vehicle with 3,000 hp already reaches the incredible speed of 472 km/h (293 mph) and costs half as much as the SF90. I still remember the times when Rolls-Royce never indicated the engine power output of its models and even use to write in the presentation brochures simply "Power: ENOUGH." While this may seem snobbish, it is perhaps the most accurate way to define the ideal power output for any Ferrari Supercar. In other words, power should neither be excessive nor less than desirable, but rather the sufficient to provide the best possible driving experience. Additionally, from an emotional and sensory perspective, we also know that there is a huge difference when that "enough" power is generated by a V12 NA or an electrified twin-turbo V6 or V8.
Not sure how you define better experience. Visually the older are classic and timeless. Having a faster 0 to 100 time is boring to me. Teslas are boring. What the car looks like is like seeing a great plate of food. You first eat with your eyes. It gets the appetite going. I have gone back to get into older vehicles because they are icons and are deliberately more engaging than an electric and haptic style car that sounds like crap. LaF was a fantastic and groundbreaking style change. We never see that anymore. Just reimagined off shelf items. Both in visual appearance and now in name. It should be blasphemy to call a car with this engine a Testarossa.
